Method of making cheese



' Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES 1,711,032 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. RICHARDSON, OF. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SWIFT &COMPANY,

\ OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

.unrnon F Marque CHEESE.

No Drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of cheese, andincludes a new cheese product and an improved method for itsmanufacture.

The new cheese product of the present invention contains substantiallyall of the valuable foods solids containedin cows milk, and inapproximately the same proportions in which these valuable solids arecontained in the milk, making allowance for the usual cheesefermentations. The new cheese prodact is manufactured from milk Withoutthe Waste which usually accompanies cheese manufacture.

Froman economic standpoint, the most enlightened use of the milk supplyof the country is for human food, first, in the form of whole milk, andsecond, in the form of evaporated. milk or milk powder in districtswhere the whole milk cannot readily be transported to centers ofconsumption. In these forms, practically all of the valuable foodingredi-v cuts of the milk is utilized as human food.

A large amount of milk is, however, em-

Application filed July 26, 1927. Serial No. 208,655.

the butter and cheese industry are at the present time for the most partdegraded below human food standards of use and value, or are wastedaltogether. 1 1

The new cheese product of the present invention is produced without thewastage of by-products, and eliminates the economic waste of valuablefood ingredients of milk above mentioned. The valuable food solids whichare lost in thewhey at the present time are retained in the cheeseproduct of the present invention which contains practically all of themilk solids. The milk sugar ordinarily lost in the whey, and which formsa larger part of the total milk solids "than either the butter fat orthe proteins, is retained in the new cheese product. Similarly, thevaluable salts and the valuable vitamines which are commonly lost inWhey are retained in the new cheese product. The new cheese thereforedifl'ers radically in its composition from ordinary cheese.

vThe composition of some of the common forms of cheese is indicated bvthe following ployed in the manufacture of butter and figures taken fromElsdons Edible Oils and cheese, but it is notorlous that these dairyFats (Van Nostrand, 1926, page 426): products involve an immense wastein their production. A typical cowis milk has the PM Lactic followingcomposition: Klnd 01mm Water Fat mm Ash Per cent.

Water 87.47

Fat 3.80 5 2 3 3 3 Casein a 250 1.5-7.0 0.7-7.0

. Stilton 1.0-3.3 2.7-4.0 Sugar 4,80 0.9-1.9 3.0-4.7

v -71 0.1.3.3 3:52;? Ash skimmed milk 28-42 10-26 30-44 diijli 3 212 Inthe manufacture of butter, by far the greater portion of the non-fattymilk solids, including the protein, the milk sugar, the salt, vitamine Band some vitamine A are lost in the form of buttermilk, of which only avery small amount is used for human food and the larger and increasingproportion of which'is used, either in its original form or afterconcentration or drying,for the feeding of fowls and pigs. In themanufacture of cheese by the methods heretofore employed, the butter fatand proteins are, for the most part, retaind inv the product, but,nevertheless, the milk sugar, the salt, vitamineB and vi'tamine A are toa considerable extent wasted, and

some protein is also lost in the whey. The whey solids from cheese arealso used to a limited extent for stock feeding. The fact remains,however, that these by-products of The new cheese product of the presentinvention may have a moisture content comparable with the moisturecontent of the cheeses mentioned in the above list, but in itsproportion ofits milk solid constituents, and in its amounts of suchconstituents other. than fat and protein, it will diflier considerablyfrom the compositions of thefc'heeses of the above table.

In makingthe new cheese product, I make use of milk so concentrated thatthe water in the concentrate approximates that of the cheese to beproduced therefrom, and I subject this concentrated milk product to thecheese making operation, by treatment with a starter or culture, incases where such starters are commonly used, and by coagulation withrennet. Since evaporated and dried acteristic flavor of a particularkind of cheese,

milk do notcoagulate readily with rennet, I add to the concentrated milkproduct, containing the evaporated milk or dried milk or both, an agentpromoting such coagulation, and particularly a calcium salt, such ascalcium chloride in minute quantities.

The concentrated milk product which is employed in making the new cheeseproduct may be produced from milk in various ways. For example, milk maybe directly concentrated to the desired moisture content by means of awell-known evaporating machinery such as is emplo ed for makingevaporated milk. Instea whole of the milk, milk powder separatelyprepared ma be added to whole milk in such proportion t at the finalmoisture content is that desired in the cheese product. Similarly, Sor

concentrated milk may be admixed with whole milk to give a concentratedproduct of the desired moisture content; or dried milk, concentrated orevaporated milk, and whole milk, may be admixed in proportions to givethe. desired moisture content. Dried milk may also be admixed with waterin the re quired proportions to give the desired moisture content in theproduct. Dried milk can thus be employed, by admixing it with wholemilk, with water, or'with evaporated milk, before'coagulation, andbringing the entire mix to the desired moisture content which isapproximately thatof the finished cheese, and then subjecting theresulting product to the cheese making operation to produce a cheese ofsimilar moisture content and containing practically all of the milksolids of the milk rom which the cheese is produced In the preferredpractice of the invention,

I make use of a moisture content in the milk concentrate of around 40 to75%. Also, I

have found it advantageous to have a certain percentage of whole milkpresent in the concentrated milk product, since cheese forma- .tionproceeds better advantage under this condition. Dried milk can, however,be used alone with sufficient water to bring it to the desired moisturecontent.

' p 'The present invention is of more or less general application, sofar as the character of cheese to be produced is concerned. That is, Imay utilize the concentrated milk product,

. containing practically all the milk solids, in the roduction of a widevariety of cheeses, by

sulnecting the concentrated product to the action of appropriatebacteria or yeasts or molds and to coagulation with rennet, particularlywhen a minute amount of an agent,

such as calcium salt, promoting coagulation is employed. In lieu of thedirect introduction of bacteria or molds to promote the charpletelycured cheese containing the culture and flavor desired.

In making different kinds of cheese by my of concentrating the ing tablein which typical moisture limits are given for various kinds of cheese,the figures being taken from The Book of Cheese by Thom and Fisk(MacMillan, 1921, page 86) Per Per Period Rlpenmg Variety of cheesepart1; cgt required agent Hard:

Parmesan-.. 30-33 2-3 years... Bacteria. Swiss 31-34 28-31 0-18months.Bacteria and yeasts. Cheddar 30-39 32-36 6-12months. Bacteria.Semi-Hard:

Brick 37-42 31-35 3-0months Bacteria. Roquefort 38-40 31-34 3-6 months"Mold. tLInmburger 40-45 24-30 3-0 months. Bacteria.

Cream cheese: 40-50 35-45 A few days Primarily bacteria. Camembert......50 22-30 3-5 weeks... Molds. Neufchatel 50-60 12-28 Afew days. Bacteria.Sk1mNeufchatel Trace. A few days Bacteria. Cottage 70 Trace. Afew days.Bacteria.

From this tabulation, as well as from the figures previously given inthe table from Elsdons book, it will be seen that the moisture contentof the same variety of cheese, and also of different types of cheese,varies within rather widelimits.

In the practice of the invention, the preliminary milk concentration isso adjusted as to be equal to the ordinary moisture content of thecheese desired. For example, in the manufacture of the cheese of Cheddartype, a moisture content between 35% and 45% will be ordinarilymaintained, although a reason- I able extension of these moisture limitsmay be possible. For other types of cheese, the moisture content of theconcentrated milk mixture is similarly adjusted so that there will be nomaterial change in moisture content between the initial mix and thecheese product, except, of course, the change due to the drying out ofthe cheese during the finishing and curing processes.

' The treatment of the concentrated milk mixture for the manufacture ofthe new cheese product will vary with the particular type of cheese tobe produced. In general, the process includes coagulation with rennet,but this coagulating treatment varies materially from the ordinarycoagulation of milk with rennet in that there is no separation of wheyand no loss of valuable milk solids in the Whey such asaccompaniesordinary cheese manufacture. The coagulation of the con centrated milkproduct, according to the present process, is carried out Withoutmaterial change in moisture content so that the coagulated product stillretains practically all of .the milk solids in practically the sameproportions as in the concentrated milk product employed, although somechange in composition may take place due to the action of the ripeningagent upon the milk constituents.

The ripening agents employed will, as above pointed out, vary with thetype of cheese to be produced, and these ripening agents may be such asare now employed' in the manufacture of the various kinds of cheese.They will act, however, upon a concentrated milk product of diiferentcomposition and will produce a cheese product likewise diifering incomposition from ordinary cheese products of the same type.

In addition to the use of rennet for coagulation and of the ripeningagent, there is advantageously employed a minute quantity of a suitablesalt to overcome the difliculty of coagulating evaporated milk and driedmilk powder with rennet. A minute quantity of a suitable calcium salt,such as calcium chloride, overcomes this difficulty when added to themix before the rennet is introduced.

The invention will be further illustrated by the following typicalexample, but it will be thereto.

understood that the invention is not limited A milk concentrate is madeby mixing together sixty-five pounds of whole dried milk powder andthirty-five pounds of water, or larger or smaller amounts of materialsin these proportions. The water is warmed to a temperature of 105 to 130F. and mixed with the whole milk powder. The mixture is then placed in amechanical mixer or beating machine and thoroughly mixed until a mix ofuniform consistency is obtained. In order.

to overcome the resistance of heated milk products, such as whole driedmilk powder, to coagulate, an addition is made'of a small amount ofcalcium chloride or other calcium salts to the mix, preferably in thewater which is added. Calcium chloride may thus be employed to theextent of 0.005% to 0.05% in the above mix. If starter is to be added,it is next introduced and the product is held at the desired culturingtemperature for the desired length of time. Rennet is then introduced inorder to induce coagulation. After the prodnot has coagulated, it may bebroken up and repressed into molds or forms or it may be molded intoforms directly before complete coagulation has set in.

In place of the simple mixture of milk pow- 'der and water of thepreceding example, I may make use of a whole milk powder and whole milk,as, for example, in the following proportions; whole milk powder sixtypounds, whole milk forty ounds. These are mixed together with or wlthoutthe addi-,

tion of a small quantity of a suitable calcium salt at a temperature of105 to 130 F., recourse being had finally to a mechanical mixer in orderto produce a smooth product.

Culture, if any, is then added and finally the 1 rennet, the resultingcheese being formed in the molds, preferably by the applicatlon of somepressure.

The cheese of the present invention and made, for example, as abovedescribed, is stored and cured in the usual way.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a new cheeseproduct and process in which all of the milk solids are used, thusavoiding the losses characteristic of the cheese industry as practicedat present. Cheese made according to the present invention will rankwith whole milk and concentrated milk from an economic standpoint, sincepractically all of the solids of the original milk are conserved. Thenew cheese process is likewise differentiated from ordinary cheeseprocesses in that it eliminates the uct makes it valuable from a dietarystandpoint, as well as from aneconomic standpoint.

I claim: 1

1. A process of making cheese which comprises mixing dried milk powderwith whole milk to form a mixture having approximately the moisturecontent desired for the finished cheese, and coagulating theconcentrated product.

2. A process of making cheese which comprises mixing dried milk powderwith whole milk to form a mixture having approximately the moisturecontent desired for the finished cheese, and culturing, coagulating andcuring.

3. A process of making cheese which comprises admixing milk powder withWater to give a concentrated milk product of a proximately the moisturecontent of the finished cheese, and coagulating the same.

4. A method of making cheese which comprises forming a concentrated milkproduct containing dried or concentrated milk, adding a small amount ofan agent promoting the coagulation by rennet, and subjecting theresulting mixture to coagulation by rennet.

5. A method of making cheese which comprises forming a concentrated milkproduct containing milk powder or c ncentrated milk, adding a minuteamount of a suitable calcium salt promoting coagulation of theconcentrated product by rennet, and subjecting the concentrated mi kproduct containing approximately the moisture content of the finishedcheese to coagulation with rennet.

6. A method of making cheese which comprises forming a concentrated milkproduct containing milk powder or concentrated milk and havingapproximately the moisture content of the finished cheese, adding to theconcentrated product a minute amount of calcium chloride, andcoagulating the concentrated product with rennet.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM :o. RICHARDSON.

